Engines may be supercharged to improve engine performance and to extend the dynamic operating range of the engine. Superchargers pressurize air entering the engine by way of a compressor, thereby increasing the amount of air available to the engine. The compressor of a supercharger may be configured with meshing lobes or a centrifugal pump. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,227,179 a supercharger is coupled to engine cylinder heads by way of intake passages that are fed air from an intercooler located downstream of the supercharger. The described supercharger is purported to offer ease of assembly, small packaging, and nimble response. However, bolting a supercharger to the top of an engine may result in alignment issues between the compressor pulley and the engine drive pulley. As such, the compressor may degrade engine balance. Further, coupling the compressor above and away from the engine may limit engine speed since the effective engine inertia is increased by moving the rotating mass away from the crankshaft. Further still, it appears that hoses are required to supply coolant to the intercooler thereby increasing the possibility for developing a coolant leak.
The inventor herein has recognized the above-mentioned disadvantages and has developed a system for improving a supercharged engine.
One embodiment of the present description includes a system, comprising: an engine block having a plurality of cylinders for housing a plurality of pistons, the engine block contiguous with at least a portion of a supercharger air compressor housing, the supercharger air compressor housing having an inlet for fresh air and an outlet that provides compressed air to cylinders in the cylinder block; and a cylinder head receiving air from said supercharger air compressor housing.
By forming at least a portion of a supercharger air compressor housing from an engine block, it may be possible to improve engine balance, reduce engine inertia, and lower the possibility of coolant leaks. For example, a supercharger constructed in the valley of a V engine may reduce engine inertia, lower engine assembly cost, improve engine balance, and reduce the number of engine hose connections. In one example, the rotors or scrolls of a supercharger may be placed in the valley of a V engine between engine cylinders. Moving the compressor scrolls closer to the engine crankshaft can reduce engine inertia and improve engine balance since the compressor scroll mass is located closer to the rotational mass of the crankshaft. In addition, when an intercooler coupled to the compressor housing is supplied coolant from the engine block or cylinder heads, the number of hose connections of the engine may be reduced, thereby reducing the possibility of coolant leaks.
The present description may provide several advantages. For example, the approach may reduce engine inertia and improve engine balance. Further, the approach may reduce the possibility of coolant leaks. Further still, the approach may reduce engine costs since the supercharger can be machined at the same time that the engine block is being machined.
The above advantages and other advantages, and features of the present description will be readily apparent from the following Detailed Description when taken alone or in connection with the accompanying drawings.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.